Learn how to make informed decisions through statistical reasoning! Using a qualitative approach to introduce statistical reasoning, The Numerate Leader: How to Pull Game-Changing Insights from Statistical Data is a cutting-edge book that helps the reader extract information from unfamiliar data sets. Combining introductory statistics with a few ideas from the philosophy of science, this work helps generalists find patterns that may be expected to recur in the future. Identifying one or two such relationships can be a game-changer for the reader and their employer or client. Thomas A. King's revelatory writing is easy to understand and conversational in tone. King makes the complex, tedious topics that you studied in the classroom--but likely didn't yet understand--easily comprehensible. Historical examples and humorous anecdotes illuminate technical concepts so that readers may pull insights from data sets and then explain conclusions reached through effective storytelling. What's more, the book is fun to read. A natural teacher, King emphasizes that complex software is unnecessary for success in this field. Readers, however, will find: Real-life examples that help put statistical concepts into an understandable context A glossary of important statistical terms and their use An appendix detailing ten math facts numerate people should know Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students entering advanced data analytics courses, as well as data analysts and c-suite executives just starting out, The Numerate Leader is key in helping develop the skills to identify provisional relationships between disparate data sets and then assess the significance of conclusions reached.

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"I'd say you were a carnival barker, except that wouldn't be fair tocarnival barkers. A carnie will at least tell you up front that he's running a shell game. You, Mr. Lay, were running what purported to be the seventh largest corporation in America."-Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, Senate Commerce Science & Transportation's Subcommittee, Hearing on Enron, 2/12/02
The speed of Enron's rise and fall is truly astonishing and perhaps the single most important story of corporate failure in the twenty-first century. In Enron investigative journalist Loren Fox promises readers nothing short of the most compelling and insightful investigation into Enron's meteoric ascent-regarded by Wall Street and the media as the epitome of innovation-and its spectacular fall from grace. In a lively and authoritative manner, Fox discusses how the biggest corporate bankruptcy in American business history happened, why for so long no one (except for an enlightened few) saw it coming, and what its impact will be on financial markets, the U.S. economy, U.S. energy policy, and the public for years to come. With access to many company insiders, Fox's intriguing account of this corporate debacle also provides an overview of the corporate culture and business model that led to Enron's high-flying success and disastrous failure. The story of Enron is one that will reverberate in global financial and energy markets as well as in criminal and civil courts for years to come. Rife with all the elements of a classic thriller-scandal, dishonest accounting, personal greed, questionable campaign contributions, suicide-Enron captures the essence of a company that went too far too fast.

This book provides a technical and specialised discussion of contemporary and emerging issues in foreign exchange and financial markets by addressing the issues of risk management and theory and hypothesis development, which have general implications for finance theory and foreign exchange market management. It offers an in-depth, comprehensive analysis of the issues concerning the volatility of exchange rates. The book has three main objectives. First, it applies the integrated study of exchange rate volatility in terms of depth and breadth. Second, it applies the integrated study of exchange rate volatility in Malaysia, as a case study of a developing country. Malaysia had imposed capital control measures in the past and has now liberalised its exchange rate market and will continue to liberalise it further in the long run. Hence, the need to understand exchange rate volatility measurement and management will be even more important in the future. Third, the book highlights new conditional volatility models for a developing country, such as Malaysia, and develops advanced econometric models which have produced results for sound risk management strategies and for achieving risk management in the financial market and the economy. Additionally, the authors recommend risk management themes which may be of relevance to other developing countries. This work can be used as a reference book by fund managers, financial market analysts, researchers, academics, practitioners, policy makers and postgraduate students in the areas of finance, accounting, business and financial economics. It can also be a supplementary text for Ph.D. and Masters' students in these areas.

Praise for MORE THAN A NUMBERS GAME

"More Than a Numbers Game is a revelatory history of how accounting conventions have shaped business reality, for good and ill."
--Justin Fox, Editor at Large, Fortune

"Mr. King's book should be of interest to both those who have lived through the accounting debates and debacles of the past half century and those just beginning their business careers. By focusing on a dozen or so major developments, particularly those with negative consequences, the book helps explain why good financial information is so critical to capital markets. Equal doses of insight and humor make this an easy-to-read, but hard-to-forget summary of an important business topic."
--Dennis R. Beresford, Ernst & Young Executive Professor of Accounting, The University of Georgia, and former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (1987-97)

"More Than a Numbers Game is a must-read for accounting students looking for a supplement to traditional textbooks. It offers a business perspective to accounting, providing readers with a holistic overview of taxes, cost accounting, regulation, as well as more traditional financial reporting topics."
--Philip A. Laskawy, retired chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young

"Tom King provides even the non-accountant a fascinating look at how accounting rules and practices have evolved into the way corporations are valued today. He is particularly effective in analyzing the 'earnings game' and the growing role of intangible assets in the valuation process."
--Louis M. Thompson Jr., President and CEO, National Investor Relations Institute

"Tom King takes a very important topic in today's world, accounting, and puts itinto a perspective that sheds an entirely new light on the importance of accounting and the intrinsic shortcomings of the profession. Whether you use GAAP accounting, do quarterly earnings, or are a private company, there is more than meets the eye to the accounting profession. King's book is an invaluable piece of work to demystify what tends to be a mystery."
--Jeff Joerres, Chairman and CEO, Manpower Inc.

Offering a deep insight into the venture capital deal-making process, "Raising Venture Capital" also provides valuable introduction to the subject. The book is practical in focus but based on sound academic theory, research and teaching materials gathered over the last 4 years at Tanaka Business School.

Part one covers the history of the venture capital industry, shows why entrepreneurs need venture capital finance, and looks at how venture capitals raise and structure their funds. It also covers valuation methods for venture capital investments, and portfolio management.

Part two illustrates how successful entrepreneurs raise finance from venture capitals, and gives details on how to approach venture capitals, how to choose the right venture capital firm, and how venture capitals and entrepreneurs work together after the deal is done.

Part three gives a blow-by-blow account of the structure of a venture capital deal.

By virtue of several theoretical models and hypotheses, this book is one of the earliest studies which systematically investigates the structure and changes of China's financial institutions. To begin with, it examines the relation between state utility function and China's economic growth, and reveals the formation and transition of China's state-owned financial institutional arrangements. Based on this analysis, the author studies the influence of monetization on the arrangements, and the financial support to China's gradual reform which have long been neglected by researchers. Also, the model of money demand that can explain the specific conditions of the gradual reform is built, as the neoclassical framework has been incapable of explaining China's financial performance. In the last chapter, it discusses the dilemma of property rights under the state-owned financial system, with the establishment of the credit equilibrium model and the dual model of bad debts. With insightful theoretical analysis and empirical researches, this book will appeal to scholars and students in finance, economics and economic history.

Efforts to resolve the recent financial crisis have obscured a more deeply rooted financialization crisis that impacts not only the market economy but also the vital civic and moral traditions that support it. This book reveals the cultural influence of finance in reshaping the foundations of American civil society and proposes a return to certain "first principles" of the Republic to restore the nation's economic vision. This book demonstrates how funding concerns and financial incentives "revalue" faith traditions, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and even the nation's healthcare system in ways that are eroding the diversity of American culture. These changes also undermine the ethical framework of both democratic government and the free-market system. While financial influence has diminished the value of civil society, this book proposes that revitalized intermediary institutions still offer the best path forward in restoring the financial sector and, more broadly, enriching the American competitive ethic toward development of a more virtuous economy. The book is written for an academic and professional audience, offering a blueprint for the involvement of civil society with government in providing more communally integrated oversight that could contribute to a genuine democratization of finance.

Published in 1998, this book provides detailed information on the financial markets in selected Central European transitioning economies. The independent countries selected for study in the text are Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The former East Germany is also include due to its proximity to the above countries and its unique experience in the transition process. Each country's section of the book contains articles written by professionals in the selected country. These individuals are economists, central bankers and/or analysts who have first-hand knowledge of the financial system. Each section details: the development in the banking sector plus the role of the central bank and the government in guiding the economy toward the market system; discuses the emerging capital markets and the ongoing process of privatization; and provides an update of the economic progress toward a market system that has been achieved since 1989.

Published in 1997, this study analyzes the global capital market as one of the most dynamic aspects of the world economy. As more financial markets were created, the security of the structure came under scrutiny. The book examines the crises in its history and how the global structure can be regulated.

Published in 1999, this work analyzes the phenomenon of macroeconomic adjustment, with special emphasis on selected Latin American countries facing stabilization programmes. It provides a historical description of the origins, functioning and collapse of exchange-rate regimes from the international classical gold standard period to modern arrangements. The author supports the argument that systemic asymmetries in the worldwide adjustment mechanism are inherent in the international monetary system. The recent theoretical literature dealing with the rules vs discretion debate and its interaction with the credibility issue is reviewed. This topic is intrinsically related to the dispute over the appropriate role of exchange-rate anchors in disinflation programmes. Against a background of academic dispute between advocates of exchange-rate prescriptions and monetary conceptions, the contrasting views of different theorists regarding the choice of exchange rate regimes are presented and assessed. Finally, a comparative analysis of recent experiments in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico with exchange-rate based disinflation stabilization programmes is undertaken. The problems that have arisen while establishing new institutional arrangements, such as new currency or a policy rule for monetary base creation, are examined.

Investing in Fixed Income SECURITIES

The goal of this book is to find a middle ground, crystallizing the essential information that will be useful to investors and market professionals alike. Many important fixed income topics are discussed, but the text highlights the most important issues that impact a decision to buy or sell a given security.

For those of you new to fixed income, or in need of a refresher, the book will: Demystify the fixed income markets Provide a comprehensive analysis of all major debt instruments Explain macro-economic concepts and economic variables and their impact on the bond market Offer insight on structuring and managing a fixed income portfolio

For the more experienced investors, the book will: Provide a thorough analysis of more complex instruments, such as mortgage and asset-backed securities Apply appropriate valuation methods to a variety of fixed income securities Offer current economic and market commentary from Phillip Braverman, a respected economist

This book will be an invaluable resource to both the novice investor and the market professional.

This book examines and explains the intellectual capital reporting practices, with a human capital focus, of firms located in the developing nation of Sri Lanka. The study ascertains the following: first, to what extent the industry groups, based on the number of shareholders, differ in their ICR practices; and second, to what extent firms in Sri Lanka differ from counterparts in other nations in their intellectual capital reporting practices.

An important aspect of this book is looking at the practices from a critical perspective to providing a more balanced view of 'good' and 'bad' effects of intellectual capital. The book meticulously outlines an extensive literature review, research methods, the theoretical perspective, findings with an engaging discussion, and concluding remarks. Indra Abeysekera's fine research project is an impressive contribution to an emerging area of interest throughout academia and industry.

An accessible guide to the pairs trading technique A leading arbitrage expert gives traders real tools for using pairs trading, including customizable Excel worksheets available on the companion website. Mark Whistler (Denver, CO) is the key developer of pairstrader.com as well as a licensed securities trader and broker and leading arbitrage expert.

Major themes in theoretical financial economics since 1973 are presented through reprinted articles, each followed by a substantial essay by a leading scholar in the field. These original papers were written expressly for these volumes and provide a critical discussion and overview of the topic. The books thus present a broad spectrum of viewpoints with an emphasis on the work on valuation, economics of uncertainty, and taxation which pertains to the problems of financial markets and corporations.

Real Estate

One insider's rollercoaster account of the subprime implosion

Richard Bitner founded his own subprime mortgage company just as the industry took off. In five years, he watched his company grow from a tiny operation to a booming business. But something wasn't right...

As housing prices skyrocketed, Bitner watched greed and fraud overtake the industry. Eventually, he became disenchanted after foreclosing on a subprime borrower who was given a legitimate, industry-standard mortgage--a loan Bitner realized never should have been made. Seeing the ugly writing on the wall, he sold his stake in the business before the industry imploded under a mountain of bad debt.

"Confessions of a Subprime Lender" pulls back the curtain on the players who created the subprime disaster, including brokers, lenders, Wall Street investment firms, and rating agencies who worked the system to their advantage. From his unique perspective as a subprime lender, Bitner reveals:

Why nearly three out of every four mortgages were misleading or fraudulent

How unscrupulous brokers tricked lenders and gullible borrowers

How brokers and lenders turned unqualified applicants into "qualified borrowers"

Why Wall Street and the rating agencies are largely to blame for the collapse

Interwoven with dramatic personal anecdotes, "Confessions of a Subprime" "Lender" explains how the subprime industry blew up and concludes with a comprehensive solution for rebuilding it by forcing changes on all the key players.

"Bitner's thorough review of the subprime lending industry provides a behind-the-scenes look at the mortgage mess. From the broker on Main Street to the investor on WallStreet, it's an unabridged version of what went wrong and how it needs to be fixed."
--Bill Dallas, founder, First Franklin Mortgage, one of America's largest subprime lenders, before it collapsed

"This is an in-depth, eye-opening examination of the problems impacting the housing and mortgage markets."
--Matthew McIntyre, CEO, Puritan Financial Group, Inc.

A mixture of academic and practitioner research, this is the most detailed book available that provides an account of open market operations. With broad international appeal it includes discussions of central bank operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.

Exploring the effectiveness of short-term interest rates and other modern central bank activities in monetary policy and the effect of structural changes in the securities markets and greater liquidity upon them, this volume represents a unique exchange of views between central bankers. It covers a range of topics including:

• bankers recent experience of open market operations
• monetary and financial economists on the impact of monetary policy on the yield curve
• the practitioners in banking and finance on recent and prospective operations in money and capital markets.

Covering the full range of the subject, both the issues and geographically, in a logical order and in a coherent style the, this set of carefully selected papers on a common theme are an essential read for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Macroeconomics, international finance and banking.

Sensible ways to manage and repair your credit Need a credit makeover? You're not alone: in the U.S., outstanding credit card and other types of revolving debt have jumped over 20% in the past decade, and millions of Americans are struggling with one or more credit-related issues. Whether you're just working on improving your score or need some sound advice on how to make debt a thing of the past, the latest edition of Credit Repair Kit for Dummies is packed with reliable information for escaping the quicksand and taking the concrete steps needed to build up a solid score. There are many reasons why you might have a subpar credit score--mortgage and auto debt, student loans, impacts of disasters such as COVID-19, and even identity theft. This book covers these scenarios and more, helping you identify the reasons behind a lower score and providing you with straightforward, proven techniques for managing it back to where you want it to be. Also included are sample credit reports, forms, templates, and other helpful online tools to use to whip your score into decent shape. Add information to your report to beef-up a low score Avoid, reduce, and get rid of mortgage, credit card, student loan, and auto debt Keep a good credit score during a period of unemployment Fight back against identity theft A good credit score is always a great thing to have. This book shows you how to put even the worst credit situations behind you and make a poor score just a bad--and distant--memory.

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of work has undergone a lasting transformation. Individuals, organizations and institutions are seeking the right balance of workspace opportunities. Workers want to know how remote work can fit into their lives, and how the office can meet their needs. In The Workplace You Need Now: Shaping Spaces for the Future of Work, work environment executives and experts Dr. Sanjay Rishi, Benjamin Breslau and Peter Miscovich deliver a practical framework for how to plan, invest in and create effective digital/physical hybrid workplaces that are beginning to define the world of work. The book explores paths to creating new workplaces that drive the four C's of value: culture, collaboration, creativity, and community. It walks you through the design of custom, flexible, digitally integrated workplaces that manifest new ways of working, and attract tomorrow's top talent. You'll discover the personalized, responsible, and experiential workplace that individuals and organizations alike seek to encourage human interaction, and fuel creativity and growth. You'll learn the path to the purposeful, resilient workplace that incorporates the emerging imperatives of health, wellness and environmental sustainability. Rich with examples from leading organizations from across the globe, The Workplace You Need Now is an indispensable resource for individuals, as well as businesses of all shapes and sizes trying to find the right solution that works for them right now.

Learn how to invest, relax, and let your money do the work with this incredible guide Fully revised, updated, and expanded for the first time since its New York Times Best-Selling debut in 20TK, the legendary Alexander Green's essential guide for individual investors spells out stock-market success for everyone from first-timers to seasoned pros. The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy...and Get on With Your Life, Second Edition delivers a long-term investment strategy that lets you reap the rewards of financial success with a simple, yet sophisticated, strategy that increases returns, reduces risk, and leaves you with time to enjoy the finer things in life. You'll learn about the fundamental relationship between risk and reward in the financial markets and get a trading insider's view of how the investment industry actually works. With The Gone Fishin' Portfolio, you'll also discover: How to take your financial future into your own hands How to invest in a way that doesn't require you to spend every waking moment worrying about your money How to avoid the most common traps the investment industry sets for you Why skilled investing doesn't have to be complicated Perfect for individual investors who want to put their money to work for them, The Gone Fishin' Portfolio gives you all the tools you need to manage your own money and maximize your investment returns today.

Take an in-depth, how-to look at Forex trading using the methods, analysis, and insights of a renowned trader, Raghee Horner.

As the fate of the dollar against foreign currency generates both anxiety and opportunities, currency trading has been drawing much interest and a growing following among traders in the United States. The Forex market is particularly attractive because it trades with no gaps and has unlimited guaranteed stop-losses. The liquidity of the Forex market and worldwide participation makes for more reliable and longer lasting trends as well.

Raghee Horner, legendary not only as a top Forex trader but as a master teacher of trading systems and techniques, draws on her winning tools and methods, including classic charting techniques, in this book. She'll enable you, regardless of your skill level as a trader or investor, to understand how the Forex operates and lays out a blueprint for getting starting in this little-understood but high-potential trading vehicle.

Written in a rigorous yet logical and easy to use style, spanning a range of disciplines, including business, mathematics, finance and economics, this comprehensive textbook offers a systematic, self-sufficient yet concise presentation of the main topics and related parts of Stochastic Analysis and statistical finance that are covered in the majority of university programmes.

Providing all explanations of basic concepts and results with proofs and numerous examples and problems, it includes:

• an introduction to probability theory
• a detailed study of discrete and continuous time market models
• a comprehensive review of Ito calculus and statistical methods as a basis for statistical estimation of models for pricing
• a detailed discussion of options and their pricing, including American options in continuous time setting.

An excellent introduction to the topic, this textbook is an essential resource for all students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and advanced degree programs in econometrics, finance, applied mathematics and mathematical modelling as well as academics and practitioners.

Written in a rigorous yet logical and easy to use style, spanning a range of disciplines, including business, mathematics, finance and economics, this comprehensive textbook offers a systematic, self-sufficient yet concise presentation of the main topics and related parts of Stochastic Analysis and statistical finance that are covered in the majority of university programmes.

Providing all explanations of basic concepts and results with proofs and numerous examples and problems, it includes:

• an introduction to probability theory
• a detailed study of discrete and continuous time market models
• a comprehensive review of Ito calculus and statistical methods as a basis for statistical estimation of models for pricing
• a detailed discussion of options and their pricing, including American options in continuous time setting.

An excellent introduction to the topic, this textbook is an essential resource for all students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and advanced degree programs in econometrics, finance, applied mathematics and mathematical modelling as well as academics and practitioners.

This book is a companion volume to the author's classic The Capital Budgeting Decision and explores the complexities of capital budgeting as well as the opportunities to improve the decision process where risk and time are important elements.

There is a long list of contenders for the next breakthrough for making capital budgeting decisions and this book gives in-depth coverage to:

• Real options. The value of a project must take into consideration the flexibility that it provides management, acknowledging the option of making decisions in the future when more information is available. This book emphasizes the need to assign a value to this flexibility, and how option-pricing theory (also known as contingent claims analysis) sometimes provides a method for valuing flexibility.
• Decomposing cash flows. A project consists of many series of cash flows and each series deserves its own specific risk-adjusted discount rate. Decomposing the cash flows of an investment highlights the fact that while managers are generally aware that divisions and projects have different risks, too often they neglect the fact that the cash flow components may also have different risks, with severe consequences on the quality of the decision-making.

Designed to assist business decisions at all levels, the emphasis is on the applications of capital budgeting techniques to a variety of issues. These include the hugely significant buy versus lease decision which costs corporations billions each year. Current business decisions also need to be made considering the cross-border implications, and global business aspects, identifying the specific aspects of internationalinvestment decisions, appear throughout the book.

This book is a companion volume to the author's classic The Capital Budgeting Decision and explores the complexities of capital budgeting as well as the opportunities to improve the decision process where risk and time are important elements.

There is a long list of contenders for the next breakthrough for making capital budgeting decisions and this book gives in-depth coverage to:

• Real options. The value of a project must take into consideration the flexibility that it provides management, acknowledging the option of making decisions in the future when more information is available. This book emphasizes the need to assign a value to this flexibility, and how option-pricing theory (also known as contingent claims analysis) sometimes provides a method for valuing flexibility.
• Decomposing cash flows. A project consists of many series of cash flows and each series deserves its own specific risk-adjusted discount rate. Decomposing the cash flows of an investment highlights the fact that while managers are generally aware that divisions and projects have different risks, too often they neglect the fact that the cash flow components may also have different risks, with severe consequences on the quality of the decision-making.

Designed to assist business decisions at all levels, the emphasis is on the applications of capital budgeting techniques to a variety of issues. These include the hugely significant buy versus lease decision which costs corporations billions each year. Current business decisions also need to be made considering the cross-border implications, and global business aspects, identifying the specific aspects of internationalinvestment decisions, appear throughout the book.

Harold Bierman, Jr., is the Nicholas H. Noyes Professor of Business Administration at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.

Seymour Smidt is Professor Emeritus at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.